Current Information:

Age-35

6, Claxton Grove, Hammersmith

After the opening battles of the war at Mons on 23rd August, 1914 and Le Cateau on 26th August, the British Army (BEF), in conjunction with the French Army, began a retreat that took them all the way back to the River Marne, 200 miles to the south. With the Germans in hot pursuit they were forced to fight a series of rear guard actions as they fell back in extremely hot weather. The Great Retreat, as it became known, came to an end on 5th September, 1914 when the allied forces attacked along the River Marne and drove the Germans back to the River Aisne.

On 28th August, 1914, as the retreat continued, there was a danger that the enemy cavalry would try to infiltrate between the two British Corps as they headed south. To counter this, the 5th Cavalry Brigade, the left flank guard of I Corps, moved to the village of Moy, two miles east of Cérizy, on the western bank of the River Oise. Around noon German cavalry appeared on the road from St. Quentin and were engaged by a squadron of the Scots Greys with a machine-gun, half a mile east of Cérizy The squadron of the Scots Greys were forced back but they prevented the Germans from occupying La Guinguette Farm, forcing them to retreat in disorder.12th Lancers were ordered to move round the enemy’s eastern flank where they caught sight of a body of German cavalry moving towards Moy. Opening fire, 12th Lancers forced the enemy to dismount. They then charged and, according to the official history, inflicted 70 casualties on the dismounted German cavalry for only 30 British casualties in return. The Affair of Cérizy, as it became known, did not stop the German pursuit, but it did slow them down. Among the casualties suffered by 12th Lancers was Harry Gore who was killed.